With stud defenseman Rasmus Dahlin locked and loaded with the first overall pick of the 2018 NHL Draft, the Buffalo Sabres still had plenty of work ahead of them to build out their organizational depth.

It appears that they identified the blue line as their greatest area of need, with four of five day-two picks used on defensemen.

Dahlin represents a minute-munching rearguard who can freely wheel and deal up and down the ice. With that element entering the system, the Sabres know that balance is needed in the pipeline. Having a fleet of mobile puck-rushers is a tantalizing proposition when queueing up a video game, but the NHL still requires rock-solid, defense-first rearguards to lean on opponents in front of the net and play the body along the walls. The Sabres acted appropriately in that regard.

The first step in building that balance came with the first pick of the second round, when Sabres Director of Amateur Scouting Ryan Jankowski announced the...